PineDustHillLotus
by HmErmUmIdk
Summary: Drama is an everyday part of life, and even though they live deep in the forest, the cats of PineClan, LotusClan, DustClan, and HillClan are not safe from it. Just inbox me if you need the oc form, or feel free to make your own.
1. PineClan

_A/N: I am accepting characters for PineClan, as well as LotusClan, DustClan, and HillClan._

 _There is a limit of five cats per person, per clan for the time being, that might change in the future._

* * *

I'm cursed, Lakemist thought to herself, as she stared down at her tiny sickly kit, I became mates with Hickorytail, and now I'm cursed.

She knew it was wrong, Hickorytail was her sister's mate, her leader's mate, and yet, she had a kit with him.

She couldn't help it, the way Hickorytail made her feel, it was unlike any feeling she'd ever felt before. When he looked at her, fire ignited in her pelt.

She looked down at her kit again, he was dark grey with a black tail, legs, and he had a black 'mask' around his eyes, as well as white paws, he looked nothing like the strong and sturdy dark brown Hickorytail.

Lakemist supposed she should be glad at he looked nothing like Hickorytail, she didn't want Olivestar to find out what she had done, it would ruin her.

"What are you going to name him?" Flowerbreeze asked, wrenching her tail out of Raspberrykit's grasp.

"Preykit," Lakemist meowed. She knew it wasn't the best of names, and it could be seen as cruel by a lot of the other cats, but she didn't think he would survive long, she supposed that StarClan would snatch him up as quickly as a good hunter snatches up prey. If he did survive however, Olivestar could probably think of a good warrior name for him.

The aforementioned cat lifted her head and let out a mrrow. She was currently in the nursery, with her own kits, Cedarkit, Deerkit, and Fawnkit, while Hickorytail took over leadership duties for the time being.

"It's not the best name, but I suppose it's better than the names Flowerbreeze gave her two litters."

"And what's wrong with the names I gave my kits?" Flowerbreeze demanded.

"They're too long, and they all end with the word berry, it's going to be hard to think of warrior names for then," Olivestar meowed.

"Well, just let Hickorytail pick the names for Blueberrypaw, Blackberrypaw, and Gooseberrypaw, you'll probably still be in the nursery when they receive their warrior names anyway."

"Like that will go over well, you know Hickorytail doesn't have much imagination," Olivestar snorted.

'Yes he does!' Lakemist wanted to yowl in defense of her mate, she held herself back though, remembering that her and Hickorytail were supposed to be a secret.

"So, who is the father of your kits? I haven't noticed you hanging out with any toms lately," Flowerbreeze meowed.

Lakemist's heart stopped in her chest, of course nosy Flowerbreeze would question her about who her kit's father was!

"I was also curious," Olivestar piped up.

Lakemist willed her fur not to fluff up, she couldn't let them know that she was on edge.

"I have to use the dirt pile, I'll let you know when I get back," she exclaimed, racing out of the nursery.

What could she do? She couldn't tell them the truth, but if she refused to tell them, then they'd think she was in a half-clan relationship or something.

She got her answer, when she spotted Snakefang dropping a blackbird into the fresh kill pile. He was black and white, her kit contained black and white, no one would question the fact that he was his father!

She raced over to him as fast as her paws would carry her.

"Snakefang, can I speak to you in private?" she hissed lowly, looking around, to make sure that no other cats were listening in.

"What is this about?" he asked with a sigh. His tone caused her pelt to prickle slightly with anticipation, maybe her plan wouldn't be as fool proof as she thought, Snakefang wasn't the nicest of cats.

"Um," Lakemist began, not knowing how to start. It seemed like such a good plan when she spotted him, but now, she couldn't get the words to come out, and the more she thought about it, the worse it seemed.

"Well, what is it?" Snakefang spat.

"I was wondering if you could tell everyone that you're the father of my kit," Lakemist blurted the words out before she could lose her nerve.

Snakefang's eyes widened with surprise.

"I was not expecting that."

He then shook his head.

"I'm not good with kits, why don't you ask Loudspark?"

"You won't have to help me take care of him, just say you're the father, so that no one finds out who his real father is, besides, everyone knows that Loudspark doesn't like she-cats."

"Who is the father?" Snakefang asked, narrowing his yellow eyes, "Is he from another clan?"

Lakemist shook her head.

"No, but I can't tell you who he is."

"Then I don't know why I should help you, I mean, if you can't even trust me enough to tell me who the real father is..." Snakefang trailed off.

"Fine, it's Hickorytail, but you can't tell anyone," Lakemist hissed, feeling shame burn through her, as she admitted it out loud to another cat.

At her admission, Snakefang balked and glared at her.

"You mean, Olivestar's mate, your sister's mate, Hickorytail?"

Lakemist nodded.

"You can save your lectures about how wrong it is, and how horrible I am, I already know that."

"And you want me to tell everyone that I fathered your kit, so you don't have to face up to the fact that you and Hickorytail went behind Olivestar's back?" he asked with his voice rising.

Lakemist slapped her tail over his mouth.

"Can you keep your voice down?" she hissed, noticing Spottedfoot glancing over at them, how much had she heard? Lakemist hoped she didn't know what was going on, the last thing she needed was for more cats to know of her betrayal.

"This is wrong," Snakefang grumbled.

"I know, but do you really want my kit growing up being hated by Olivestar because of who his father is? If I know my sister's that's what will happen if she finds out that Hickorytail is his father, she'll hate every part of me, and every part of him, expect for maybe her kits, but do you really want to take that chance?"

Lakemist knew that guilt tripping him was wrong, but she was desperate.

"Fine, after all, it isn't the kit's fault that his mother would exchange her loyalty for a mouse tail," Snakefang hissed. Lakemist tried not to wince, his words stung a bit, but she knew he was right. She wasn't loyal.

"Thank you, if there's ever anything you need me to do, just ask."

"I don't want anything from you, I just want you to leave me alone, you can tell everyone that I'm the father of your kit, and if they ask, I'll agree, but I don't want you to ever talk to me again," Snakefang hissed.

"But we're in the same clan, we'll have to talk to each other, and won't the other cats start asking questions if we seem to hate each other?"

"We will talk to each other about clan related things, that's it."

"But what about the other cats noticing the tension between us?" Lakemist asked. She knew she should be happy that Snakefang even agreed to help her, but she didn't want to have a bad reputation within the clan, and she also didn't want the other cats thinking poorly of Snakefang. They would think that he left her, right after she had his kit, which wasn't the truth, but they didn't know that.

"Do you really want the other cats thinking you're a bad cat, they will you know, they will think you left me right after I had my kit," she added.

"I don't care what the other cats think of me, I'm already not into this whole scheme, it's wrong, Olivestar is my friend," Snakefang meowed lowly with anger blazing in his eyes.

"And imagine how hurt she'll be when she finds out about me and Hickorytail, do you really want that?" Lakemist hissed.

"Is everything alright over here?"

Lakemist willed her fur to lay flat, and she turned to look at Spottedfoot, who was making her way over to them.

"You're not being mean to Lakemist are you?" she nudged Snakefang, "she just had kits you know, we can't be mean to her until at least a moon from now."

She could tell by the sparkle in the she-cat's yellow eyes, that she was just teasing her. It also didn't seem like she had heard what she and Snakefang were talking about, if she had, she would probably be clawing her fur off right now.

"I had one kit, a tom-kit," Lakemist meowed.

"Oh really? Who's the father?" Spottedfoot asked. Lakemist suppressed a sigh, why did everyone have to ask her that? Why were they so nosy? What did it matter who the father was?

"I am," Snakefang meowed. Lakemist blinked at him gratefully, feeling a bit surprised, she hadn't expected him to stick to his promise to help her, especially not after their argument.

"You?"

Spottedfoot let out a small hiss of surprise.

"You mean, you and Lakemist were together this whole time, and you didn't tell me?"

"Well, um, we weren't exactly together, it was more of a one time sort of thing," Snakefang meowed uneasily, shuffling his paws.

Oh great, Lakemist thought bitterly, make me sound like a cat who only cares about short flings.

"Oh well, at least PineClan got another kit out of the deal," Spottedfoot purred affectionately.

"Yeah, we're going to need more kits, our apprentices are useless," Snakefang snorted, glancing over at the practice stump. Lakemist followed his gaze, and saw that Gooseberrypaw kept trying to jump up onto the stump, only to fall short, and run into it, before repeating the same sequence and and over.

"At least he's persistent," Spottedfoot meowed, after Gooseberrypaw did this about five more times.

"His persistence is going to damage his skull," Snakefang grumbled.

"I better go and stop my apprentice before he hurts himself," he then sighed.

"So, do you still like Snakefang? I know he said it was just a one time thing, but how do you feel?" Spottedfoot asked once Snakefang was out of earshot.

"He's really handsome, but he's a bit too prickly for me," Lakemist answered honestly.

"Yeah, I can understand that, so, tell me about your kit, what's his name? Is he healthy?"

Lakemist let out a sigh of relief, glad that Spottedfoot wasn't asking anymore questions about her and Snakefang.

"His name is Preykit, and he seems a bit sickly, I'm a little worried to be honest," Lakemist meowed softly, looking down at her paws.

"Hmm, Preykit, that is a unique and interesting name, I just hope it doesn't cause him any problems in the future."

"If he does have a future," Lakemist muttered.

"Don't talk like that," Spottedfoot meowed, flicking her with her tail, "Preykit will be fine, and he will grow up to be big and strong just like his mother, and if we have any luck, he won't get his father's personality."

Lakemist let out a forced mrrow. She wanted her kit to have the personality of his father, his real father, Hickorytail, who was brave, caring, and one of the nicest cats she'd ever met.

A loud yowl suddenly rang out from the apprentice training area. When Lakemist snapped her head over in that direction, she saw that Blueberrypaw was holding Blackberrypaw down.

"Get off me you fat slug!" the black pelted tom yowled.

"No! Not until you admit that I'm the best apprentice in PineClan!"

"But you're not the best apprentice," he grumbled, kicking Blueberrypaw in the stomach with his back feet, she didn't even budge.

"Say it!" she hissed, seeming unaffected by the kicks her brother kept delivering to her stomach.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Lakemist asked Spottedfoot, noticing the she-cat was just sitting there watching the two apprentices fight. She figured that she should do something, after all, Blackberrypaw was her apprentice.

She shook her head.

"This is good practice for them."

She licked her paw, and swiped it over her ear, as she continued to watch the two apprentices fight.

Lilycreek, Blueberrypaw's mentor, must have had other ideas though, because she padded up to her apprentice, and pulled her off of her brother.

"You need to learn how to sort out your problems with words rather than claws, now what seems to be the issue?" she meowed in such a soft tone, that Lakemist had to strain her ears to hear.

"Blackberrypaw took the last squirrel, everyone knows squirrels are my favorite," Blueberrypaw meowed.

"Like you need anymore squirrels," Blackberrypaw hissed.

Blueberrypaw let out a yowl, and pounced on her brother again, only to have Lilycreek pull her back by her scruff.

"You two can go clear the ticks off the elders, and change their bedding, no arguments!"

"Yes Lilycreek," the apprentices sighed, hanging their heads. Lakemist knew that even though Lilycreek was quiet, she was a force to be reckoned with when she got angry enough.

"Well, I better go back to the nursery," Lakemist meowed, figuring that Preykit was probably hungry, and that Olivestar and Flowerbreeze were probably wondering where she was.

As she padded back to the nursery, she sent a silent prayer to StarClan, that her kit would survive, and that no cat would ever find out what she had done.

* * *

 _Leader: Olivestar - black she-cat with olive green eyes_

 _Deputy: Hickorytail - long haired dark brown tom with amber eyes_

 _Medicine Cat: Desertwind - light brown tom with a white underside and green eyes_

 _Warriors:_

 _Bluegrass - blue-grey tom with green eyes_

 _Loudspark - golden tom with blue eyes_

 _Lilycreek - white she-cat with green eyes_

 _(apprentice: Blueberrypaw)_

 _Spottedfoot - white she-cat with black flecks on her paws and yellow eyes_

 _(apprentice: Blackberrypaw)_

 _Snakefang - black and white tom with yellow eyes_

 _(apprentice: Gooseberrypaw)_

 _Apprentices:_

 _Blueberrypaw - blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes_

 _Blackberrypaw - black tom with blue eyes_

 _Gooseberrypaw - white tom with green eyes_

 _Queens :_

 _Flowerbreeze - calico she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Bluegrass' kits, Raspberrykit and Strawberrykit)_

 _Olivestar - black she-cat with olive green eyes (mother of Hickorytail's kits, Cedarkit, Deerkit, and Fawnkit)_

 _Lakemist - grey she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Hickorytail's kit, Preykit)_

 _Elders :_

 _Finchtail - golden tom with amber eyes and a short tail_

 _Kits:_

 _Raspberrykit - orange she-kit with green eyes_

 _Strawberrykit - orange tom-kit with green eyes_

 _Cedarkit - dark brown she-kit_

 _Deerkit - light brown tom-kit with a white underside and legs_

 _Fawnkit - long haired dark brown she-kit_

 _Preykit - weak dark grey tom-kit with black points and white paws_


	2. DustClan

_A/N: Thank you to Mistyflame Of DarkClan for DustClan cats: Heatherowl, Littlesong, Icepaw, and Wrenpaw, and HillClan cats: Dawnstar, Owlfoot, Stalkingpaw, Adderpaw, Poppypaw_

* * *

 _Leader: Brownstar - brown tom with amber eyes_

 _Deputy: Heatherowl - very light misty tanish/purple lilac point colored tabby, sweet looking light leaf green eyes_

 _Medicine Cat: Littlesong - fawn-colored she-cat with misty blue eyes_

 _Warriors:_

 _Talonclaw - grey tom with amber eyes_

 _(apprentice: Icepaw)_

 _Barkfoot - brown tom with dark brown paws and amber eyes_

 _(apprentice: Wrenpaw)_

 _Darkmoon - black tom with dark grey flecks and grey eyes_

 _(apprentice: Fleetpaw)_

 _Nettlestorm - brown she-cat with yellow eyes_

 _Apprentices:_

 _Wrenpaw - small, brown tabby she-cat splouched in white with white muzzle and paws, and green eyes_

 _Icepaw - large, thin furred sleek white tom with icey blueish green eyes_

 _Fleetpaw - pale grey tom with yelllow eyes_

 _Queens:_

 _Mousefrost - grey she-cat with blue eyes (expecting Barkfoot's kits)_

 _Elders:_

 _Nightfeather - long furred black she-cat with grey eyes_

 _Shrewbelly - grey tom with yellow eyes_

* * *

Wind breezed through Darkmoon's pelt, and dust billowed up around him, as he raced after his apprentice. He wanted to call out to him, to tell him to slow down and wait, but the burning of his lungs, and the drought-dry feeling in his mouth, made it impossible.

He's getting too close to the HillClan border, Darkmoon thought fretfully, watching as his apprentice ran on, making no signs of stopping.

But then, just as Darkmoon was preparing himself to get into a stand off with a HillClan patrol, that would undoubtly show up, his apprentice skidded to a halt, not even a mouse tail length away from the border.

"What was the meaning of that?" Darkmoon hissed, finally finding his voice, as he stormed over to his apprentice.

"The meaning of what?" he tilted his head to the side, looking thoroughly confused.

"You can't just run off like that, Fleetpaw, what if you didn't slow down in time? You know how testy HillClan gets when cats cross their borders!" Darkmoon spat.

Fleetpaw rolled his eyes, and flicked his tail dismissively.

"I had it all under control, plus, no harm was done, can't we just let it go?"

Irritation prickled Darkmoon's pelt, why couldn't his apprentice listen to him for once in his life? He was always rushing off without a second thought.

"Not this time I'm afraid, I think you should spend the next three days tending to the elders."

"What?" Fleetpaw's eyes widened with disbelief, "But Talonclaw and Barkfoot never punish Icepaw and Wrenpaw!"

He shook his head, as the disbelief in his eyes flashed to anger.

"I can't believe I haven't even been an apprentice for a moon, and I'm already being punished!"

"Are you done?" Darkmoon asked in a bored tone, hoping that his apprentice was done throwing his little temper tantrum.

"No!" he exclaimed with his fur bristling, "It's not fair, why did I have to get the lamest mentor in the history of mentors?" his yellow eyes narrowed into a glare, "Why are you so bossy anyway? You haven't even been a warrior that long, and I'm bigger than you, I could probably take you in a fight easily!"

"I think a half-moon's worth of taking care of the elders will suffice, don't you?" Darkmoon asked, as he gave a few quick licks to his slightly ruffled chest fur. He tried to pass it off, like he wasn't affected by his apprentice's words, but they stung a little. Apprentices were supposed to look up to their mentors, to learn from them, to seek guidance from them, but no matter what Darkmoon did, Fleetpaw treated him like he belonged in the dirt pile.

"That's not fair!" Fleetpaw yowled.

"What's not fair?" Barkfoot asked, padding up with Wrenpaw following behind, she was carrying a rabbit in her jaws, and her green eyes were gleaming with pride.

"Did she catch that?" Darkmoon asked, instead of giving Fleetpaw a chance to complain more.

"Yep!" Barkfoot beamed, "It's probably the biggest rabbit I've seen, and this close to leaf-bare, it's a miracle she even caught it at all."

"Big deal," Fleetpaw scoffed rolling his eyes, "I could probably catch twice as many rabbits, in half the time."

The pride filled gleam that Wrenpaw's eyes once held, disappeared, and she instead turned her gaze down to her paws.

"You're not going to catch anything while you're taking care of the elders," Darkmoon hissed, once again feeling irritation at his apprentice course through him. Why did he have to go and undermine Wrenpaw's hunting ability like that? It was the first time she had seemed at least slightly happy since the death of her father Frogclaw.

Not only had Frogclaw been a highly respectable member of the clan, but he had also been his mentor. He could be strict at times, and Darkmoon couldn't count how many times he got stuck taking care of the elders, but Frogclaw was the best mentor he could have ever asked for. He was a brave and loyal cat, always ready to defend his clan, even at the cost of his own life. When Frogclaw died, Darkmoon made a promise to himself, that he would look after his kits, in the same way that he had looked after him when he was an apprentice.

He was like a father to me, Darkmoon thought to himself. He didn't know his real father, and his mother, Nightfeather, didn't speak about him. In fact, she hardly spoke at all, she tended to keep to herself, and the only time she really interacted with her clanmates, was to yowl at them to get out of the elder's den, unless they had come to clear her ticks, or change her bedding.

Darkmoon padded up to Wrenpaw and nuzzled her cheek.

"Don't listen to him, he's just jealous because instead of catching anything, he was too busy flitting around." He cast a glare at his apprentice.

"We're not on hunting duty, we're on border patrol, it's not my fault you're too slow to keep up with me!" Fleetpaw spat.

"Now Fleetpaw, you need to show more respect towards your mentor, I know Nettlestorm didn't raise you to behave this way," Barkfoot meowed sternly.

Darkmoon blinked at him appreciatively, glad that he was there. Other than Frogclaw, Barkfoot was the cat that he was the closest to. He had this calming presence, that made it easy to confide in him.

"But he's so lame, why couldn't they have given me a better mentor? Why did they have to give me a mentor that isn't much older than me? I need someone with experience, someone who doesn't fall behind, though," Fleetpaw snorted, "it's hard to keep up with a cat as fast as me."

"Speed will only get you so far," Barkfoot meowed.

"He's right you know, here in HillClan, we rely on strength instead of speed."

"Greetings Owlfoot," Darkmoon meowed, dipping his head at the HillClan warrior.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't catch me," Fleetpaw spat. Darkmoon flicked him with his tail.

"You should be respectful of your elders, even if they're in different clans," he hissed.

"Is that your apprentice?" Owlfoot asked, jerking his head over at Fleetpaw.

Darkmoon nodded, and shuffled his paws, feeling a bit anxious, he hoped that his apprentice's poor behavior wouldn't reflect poorly on him. He then felt slightly mouse-brained for thinking that, what did he care what a bunch of smelly HillClan cats thought anyway?

"That's nice, here's my apprentice," Owlfoot flicked his tail over to a pale brown tom who was chewing on the grass.

"Heathpaw."

At the sound of his name, the apprentice stopped chewing the grass, and looked over at his mentor.

"Sorry Owlfoot, I have a belly ache, and Heatherpaw told me it would help," he stood up, and puffed his chest out, "she's a medicine cat apprentice," he meowed proudly.

"Big deal!" Fleetpaw scoffed, "Littlesong doesn't need an apprentice, because she's going to live forever."

"No one lives forever," Darkmoon meowed softly, his mind flashing for a moment towards Frogclaw. When he was younger, he thought the brave and fierce tom would live forever, but he didn't. He winced slightly, feeling as though a large boulder had dropped on his soul, as the death of the brave warrior replayed itself in his mind.

"Yeah well, Palestripe is as healthy as an ox, and I suspect he'll live forever too, HillClan will just have two brilliant medicine cats, and DustClan will be stuck with one," Heathpaw retorted.

"Well, Wrenpaw and I are going to go take this rabbit back to camp before it goes stale," Barkfoot meowed.

"Can we give it to Mousefrost? I think she'll need it with her kits coming soon," Wrenpaw meowed.

They were already too far away for Darkmoon to hear Barkfoot's answer, but if he had no doubt in his mind that the dark brown tom said yes, after all, Mousefrost was his mate, and even if she wasn't, he had no doubts that he said yes.

"So, how are things in HillClan?" Darkmoon asked Owlfoot, as Fleetpaw and Heathpaw stared each other down with their fur bristled.

"They're going great, we're getting all the prey and herbs stocked up for leaf-bare."

"Yeah! Heatherpaw found like MOONS worth of coltsfoot," Heathpaw bragged.

"Big deal! Littlesong has enough herbs to last a lifetime, and more than just coltsfoot!" Fleetpaw exclaimed.

"Yeah well, Palestripe has the strongest connection to StarClan of any cat I've ever seen, and he's been a medicine cat longer than anyone!"

"Has not! Littlesong has been a medicine cat longer," Fleetpaw spat, lashing his tail.

"No, Littlesong was probably still in the nursery when Palestripe was receiving his medicine cat name!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Well, we better get back now," Owlfoot meowed, ushering his apprentice away. Darkmoon watched with slight envy, as Heathpaw followed him, without any questions or complaints.

"Come on Fleetpaw, let's return to camp too."

"No, I want to wait here for another HillClan cat to appear, so I can tell them how much better DustClan is," Fleetpaw meowed, laying down, and tucking his front legs under him.

"Don't you want to get back before Shrewbelly eats everything from the fresh kill pile?" Darkmoon asked.

Fleetpaw gave a dismissive flick of his tail.

"Big deal, we can catch some prey on the way back to camp, that way, our meal will be fresh."

Darkmoon let out a hiss of irritation.

"Fine, you can stay here all night if you want, but I am returning back to camp!"

Anger surged through him, as he stormed back towards the DustClan camp, but underneath the anger, he felt shame and regret. He knew he shouldn't have just left his apprentice like that, and that instead of storming off, he should have at least tried harder to talk to him. It was so hard though, to talk to a cat who didn't give a whisker about anything he said.

Maybe I'm not cut out to be a mentor, he thought to himself, as he pushed through the camp entrance, which was made out of tumbleweeds.

"Hello Darkmoon," Nettlestorm greeted him, "Where's Fleetpaw?"

Darkmoon shifted his paws uncomfortably, how could he tell the she-cat that he had ditched her kit at the HillClan border.

"He'll be here shortly," he choked out. He hated lying to the other cats.

"Oh? Why? Why isn't he with you now?" Neetlestorm asked, narrowing her yellow eyes at him.

"Um."

Darkmoon's heart started pounding rapidly in his chest, and his pelt began to prickle with apprehension.

"Keep your fur on Mother, I was out catching a better rabbit than Wrenpaw," Fleetpaw meowed, padding into the camp, dragging a rabbit that was as big as he was.

"You shouldn't have came back to camp without him!" Nettlestorm spat, before racing over to her kit.

"Are you okay? Nothing hurt you did it?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"I'm fine Mother, gosh! You don't have to treat me like a kit, I'm an apprentice now!" Fleetpaw spat.

"I know, but you'll always be my little kit," Nettlestorm purred.

The knowledge that his apprentice was back, safe and sound, filled Darkmoon with relief.

"So, you're back," he meowed, padding over to him.

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

The relief that he felt, turned to anger, causing Darkmoon's fur to stand on end.

"I told you to return to camp, you disobeyed me, and-"

"You're his mentor! Everything he does is in your paws, you're responsible for him!" Nettlestorm spat, lashing her tail.

Talonclaw started making his way over to them, and Darkmoon braced himself for the harsh words he knew would be coming from the grey pelted tom.

"Fleetpaw is old enough now to take responsibility for himself, if his mentor tells him to do something, then he should listen to him."

Darkmoon blinked with surprise, he wasn't expecting Talonclaw to take his side at all, especially not against his own kit.

"However," his amber gaze shifted to Darkmoon, "if a mentor can't learn how to control his apprentice, then he should ask himself if he's really cut out for the responsibility."

Darkmoon stared down at his paws, suddenly feeling very small and insignificant. He finally got the chance to be a mentor, and now, he was completely messing it up. He thought his worries about impressing the older warriors would be over when he got his own warrior name, but now, it seemed like they were only just beginning.


	3. HillClan

_A/N: Thank you to catspider12 for Brokenmuzzle, ThatTexasKid for Badgerfur, and Mistyflame Of DarkClan for PineClan cats: Treelily, Hawkkit, Waterkit, Roundfrog, and Frostykit._

* * *

 _Leader: Dawnstar - pale, tan she-cat with darker bunt-colored gingers patched around her ears and tail, bright blue eyes_

 _Deputy: Cloudwillow - white she-cat with green eyes_

 _Medicine Cat: Palestripe - white tom with light silver stripes and green eyes_

 _(apprentice: Heatherpaw)_

 _Warriors:_

 _Owlfoot - dark brown tabby tom, dark blue eyes with pure white eartips and paws_

 _(apprentice: Heathpaw)_

 _Badgerfur - black she-cat with a white stripe running down her back, and green eyes_

 _(apprentice: Poppypaw)_

 _Silvertail - white she-cat with a grey tail and green eyes_

 _(apprentice: Adderpaw)_

 _Silentwind - white tom with green eyes_

 _(appentice: Stalkingpaw)_

 _Sweetcall - pale brown she-cat with amber eyes_

 _Apprentices:_

 _Heatherpaw - white she-cat with amber eyes_

 _Heathpaw - pale brown tom with green eyes_

 _Stalkingpaw - dark dusty jet black long-legged she-cat, dark greenish blue eyes with a long whipping tail_

 _Adderpaw - darkish red tan tabby tom with yellow eyes_

 _Poppypaw - white she-cat, scar across muzzle and bright blue eyes_

 _Elders:_

 _Brokenmuzzle - tattered brown elder with a twisted muzzle_

* * *

Heathpaw was padding closely behind Owlfoot, towards the edge of the border, near the thunderpath, when his mentor suddenly stopped, and let out a low growl. Peeking around him, Heathpaw's heart skipped a beat, when he saw himself looking at the most interesting cat he had ever seen before. It was a long haired, black tom with golden eyes.

"He looks just like a cloud of smoke," Heathpaw breathed. He had never seen a cat this fluffy before, or with fur this clean, every other long haired cat he'd seen, usually had their fur in tangles, or had twigs or leaves stuck in it, not this cat though. He looked as though his fur could never be tangled, and that anything that tried to stick to it, would just slide right off. As Heathpaw neared him, he noticed a flash of pea-green through the fur on his neck; a collar, this cat was a kittypet.

"What are you doing on our territory?" Owlfoot hissed at the kittypet.

His golden eyes widened, and he took a step back.

"M-My twolegs dumped me here, I-I don't understand why, they just abandoned me, I wish I knew why they don't love me anymore."

Heathpaw's heart lurched at the heart-breaking tone of the kittypet's voice. Without thinking to ask for permission from Owlfoot, he bounded over to him. He knew that some cats could be dangerous, but this kittypet seemed completely harmless.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" he asked, looking him up and down, "my sister, Heatherpaw, is the best medicine cat apprentice, she can help you."

"No she can't, this cat is a kittypet, he doesn't belong in clan territory," Owlfoot spat.

Heathpaw turned to glare at his mentor, he couldn't understand how Owlfoot could be so kind to him, and the other cats in the clan, except for Adderpaw, who was half-loner, and yet so mean to cats who weren't clan born.

Owlfoot then turned to the kittypet, and unsheathed his claws.

"I suggest you leave our territory now, or suffer the consequences."

The kittypet's eyes widened, and without a word, he darted off across the thunderpath. Heathpaw's chest tightened, as he braced himself for a monster to come. Luckily, the kittypet made it across safely, and he let out a sigh of relief, before turning to Owlfoot.

"That was really rude you know," he hissed, feeling a bit guilty at snapping at his mentor, he couldn't help it though. He hated how mean he had been to the kittypet.

"He's a kittypet, he doesn't belong on clan territory," Owlfoot meowed, narrowing his dark blue eyes.

"What if he was hurt? You heard what he said, his twolegs dumped him here," Heathpaw shook his head, "he must be out there, all scared and alone, did you see his fur? His soft, sleek, beautiful fur? No cat with that kind of fur can last long by themselves out here!"

"I'm sure it won't take long for him to find another twoleg to live with," Owlfoot meowed.

"Yes, but what if he doesn't want to live with twolegs anymore? I know I wouldn't want to live with someone who just left me," Heathpaw argued. He knew it was wrong to argue with his mentor, but once he started he couldn't stop.

"You know," he continued, "he could come live with us, his new name can be Smokecloud, if he wants to change his name, I wonder what his name even is?"

"It doesn't matter, HillClan isn't a place for kittypets, he's not coming with us, and that's final, now, let's go mark the borders, and I don't want to hear another peep out of you."

Heathpaw dipped his head in defeat.

"Yes, Owlfoot."

When they finished marking the borders, they padded back to camp, and during the whole way back, Heathpaw couldn't stop thinking about the kittypet. I hope he's okay, he thought to himself, glancing back over his shoulder, as though he expected the beautiful furred tom to be there.

"Hey, I learned this cool new battle move, want to see it?" Adderpaw asked.

Heathpaw opened his mouth to reply, when he realized that Adderpaw was talking to Poppypaw, and not him. He quickly shut his mouth, as embarrassment threatened to ruffle his pelt, he hoped that no one else saw that.

"Sure, and I can tell you all about the shrew I caught," came Poppypaw's reply.

Heathpaw padded away from them, and towards the medicine cat den where he knew Heatherpaw would be. He couldn't wait to tell her all about the kittypet he had encountered. As he neared the medicine cat den, a droplet of rain fell on his pelt, causing him to shiver. Turning his gaze up to the sky, his fur ruffled slightly, he hoped it wouldn't rain a lot, especially not as cold as it was becoming. His nose was already starting to feel numb, and the pads of his paws were painfully cold, and it wasn't even leaf-bare yet. Rain out only make things worse, especially if that rain froze.

"Heathpaw! I thought I smelled you," Heatherpaw meowed, padding out of the medicine cat den.

Heathpaw turned to her, all of his thoughts about the rain forgotten.

"Heatherpaw, you're not going to believe what I saw," he meowed.

"What was it? Was it another deer?" Heathpaw snorted, rolling her eyes.

Last week, he had seen a deer, of course, no one believed him, why would they? He had been alone when he saw it, so there were no other witnesses, but he could have sworn he saw a deer. At least, he thought he did, maybe it was a dog or something, but a dog would have attacked him, wouldn't it? No, it had been a deer, he was one hundred percent certain that it was a deer.

"No, it was a kittypet, he had the most glorious fur Heatherpaw, you should have seen him!"

Heatherpaw's whiskers twitched, and she flicked her tail.

"It's not good to associate with kittypets Heathpaw, they're not like us."

"But his twolegs dumped him, they abandoned him, and now he's out there all alone, with no one to care for him."

"It won't take him long to find more twolegs to take him in," Heatherpaw reassured him.

Heathpaw suppressed a sigh, first Owlfoot, and now Heatherpaw, why was no one taking this seriously? Even if the kittypet wasn't a clan cat, he was still a cat, shouldn't they try to help him? It didn't feel right to him, to leave a defenseless cat out there all by himself, especially with leaf-bare so near.

I have to help him, he realized, I don't care what Owlfoot or Heatherpaw think, it doesn't seem right to just leave him out there with no help. Heatherpaw, seeming to read his mind like she always did, meowed.

"You can't help him, he's not your responsibility, he's not even a clan cat."

"What if he dies though? If I knew I could have done something..."

"You can't do something without breaking the rules!" Heatherpaw hissed lowly.

"Sometimes you have to break the rules in order to do what's right," Heathpaw meowed firmly. He made up his mind, he would help the kittypet in any way he could, and no one could talk him out of it. Heatherpaw must have realized that too, because she just gave a dismissive flick of her tail and meowed,

"Fine, but I heard that Badgerfur is on guard duty tonight."

A jolt of fear went through Heathpaw, at the sound of the she-cat's name. Badgerfur was the scariest cat he had ever encountered. He remembered when he was a kit, and she was still an apprentice, he accidentally stepped on her tail, she pounced on him, and held him down, threatening him, that if he ever did that again, she would rip his pelt off. After that, Heathpaw made sure to steer clear of her.

He felt bad for Poppypaw, Badgerfur's apprentice, even though she could be very stuck up and rude at times.

However, he didn't know if that was her real personality, or if she was just putting on a front to impress Adderpaw, who was probably the meanest cat after Badgerfur. It was obvious to everyone that Poppypaw was in love with him. Heathpaw couldn't understand why though, what made Adderpaw so special? His darkish red tan fur was pretty he supposed, but other than that, he didn't have anything going for him, because his personality was certainly lacking.

Besides, as pretty as his fur color was, it couldn't hold a candle to the kittypet's fur.

I hope I learn his name when I see him again. Heathpaw thought, he didn't want to keep thinking of him as the kittypet.

"Hey Heatherpaw, can you go out and collect more-"

Heathpaw didn't hear what Palestripe had asked Heatherpaw to collect, because as soon as he asked her to go out, his mind sparked with an idea.

"Hey," he meowed, padding out after her, "Do you mind if I help?"

It would be the perfect excuse for him to leave the camp, without having to sneak past his clan mates, especially Badgerfur.

Heatherpaw narrowed her amber eyes at him.

"Do you really want to help, or are you offering for alternative motives?"

"Come on Heatherpaw, I can help you and check on the kittypet," he whispered, glad that no other cats were paying attention to him.

"I don't know, isn't it against the warrior code?"

"Maybe, but what does the warrior code matter when lives could be at stake?"

The words tumbled out of Heathpaw's mouth before he could realize what he had said.

"Um, the warrior code means everything!" Heatherpaw's eyes flashed angrily, "without it, we're nothing but a bunch of rogues."

"I know, I'm sorry, this is just important okay?"

"And the warrior code isn't?"

"No, no," Heathpaw bristled, "the warrior code is important, I just think the life of another cat is more important."

"Even if that cat isn't even clanborn?"

"Yes, I don't think the life a cat is born into should dictate whether they should survive or not," Heathpaw hissed. It wasn't the fault of the kittypet that he was born as a kittypet.

"I suppose you're right," Heatherpaw sighed, "Fine, I'll ask Palestripe if you can help me, but if you get caught, I had nothing to do with it."

"Deal," Heathpaw meowed, figuring that even if he had to chew up food for Brokenmuzzle, and feed it to him, it would all be worth it.

After getting the okays from Palestripe and Owlfoot, Heathpaw and Heatherpaw padded out of the camp entrance. Heathpaw was glad that the short burst of soft rain had been just that, a short burst of soft rain. He didn't exactly mind getting his pelt wet, but he was no LotusClan cat. Those cats seemed to thrive in water.

"I found the kittypet this way," Heathpaw meowed, when Heatherpaw started going towards the direction of the PineClan border, which was in the complete opposite direction.

"Well, the herbs I need are this way, you can check on him after we've collected those, if we have time," Heatherpaw meowed.

Heathpaw let out a sigh.

"Fine."

He followed after her, hoping that she wouldn't pick herbs as slowly as she could, just to hinder his chances of seeing the kittypet again.

"Hey, isn't that a kit playing under the tree?"

At his sister's words, Heathpaw looked over the PineCLan border, and saw a dark brown tom-kit batting a leaf. That wasn't the only thing he noticed though, situated right above the kit's head, there was a large branch that was beginning to splinter away from the tree. It looked as though just a small gust of wind could knock it loose.

Not wanting to take any chances with the kit's life, he yowled,

"Kit! Move!"

The kit frowned at him.

"My name is Hawkkit, and I don't have to listen to you, you're not even in my clan!" he spat.

Heathpaw started to speak again, when the branch suddenly broke away from the tree.

Without a second thought, he ran faster than he ever had before over the PineClan border, ignoring the cries of his sister telling him to stop. He barreled into Hawkkit, knocking him out of the path of the branch.

He let out a howl of pain as the branch crashed down to the ground, grazing his side as it fell. It finally came to a rest on his foreleg.

Though his side felt battered and scraped up, and his foreleg was pinned under the branch, that wasn't what hurt him the most though. A twig must of been sticking out of the branch, because he felt it scrape against his eye.

"Heathpaw!" Heatherpaw yowled, racing over to him, "Oh no, your eye!"

She must not have noticed that his foreleg was pinned under the branch, because she didn't say anything about that. Heathpaw wasn't very concerned about that either, if his foreleg was broken, it would be okay, he knew that bones could sometimes heal completely, but eyes couldn't, at least, not any that he's ever heard of. From what he knew, once someone lost their vision, they never got it back.

"I-Is it bad?" Heathpaw stammered out, trying to ignore the pain he felt in his side, and his eye, as for his leg, it felt completely numb. That concerned him a little, but not as much as the fact that he couldn't see anything out of his injured eye.

What if I die? He thought to himself, what if I can never be a warrior?

Shame pricked his heart like thorns, Owlfoot had worked so hard to train him in the ways of a warrior, and now, it might all be for nothing.

"That's going on here? What are you doing on PineClan territory?" Heathpaw recognized the voice of Hickorytail, the PineClan deputy, asking.

"I'm stuck!" Heathpaw wailed, he knew he probably sounded like a kit, he didn't care though, he just wanted to be out from under the branch, and back in his own nest. He hoped that if he fell asleep, and then woke up, this will all have revealed itself to be a dream. A highly frightful dream, but a dream nonetheless.

"And whose fault is that?" Hickorytail demanded.

"Hey, if it wasn't for him, this kit would probably be dead right now, what's a kit even doing out of the camp anyway?" Heatherpaw spat.

The PineClan deputy let out a noise, that sounded like surprise, as though he hadn't noticed that the kit was out there.

"Hawkkit, what did I tell you about sneaking out of the camp?" he asked.

"Can you wait to lecture him after we help my brother? I want to get him back to camp, hopefully Palestripe will be able to save his eye before it's too late."

Hope swelled up in Heathpaw's chest, maybe he wouldn't have to give up being a warrior after all!

As Heatherpaw and Hickorytail worked together to move the branch off of his leg, Heathpaw's mind suddenly went to the kittypet. He felt a stab of guilt, when he realized that he wouldn't be able to help him, not now anyway. By the time he would be able to help him, it would probably be too late.

First, he might have to stop being a warrior, which would probably hurt Owlfoot, now, he couldn't even go check on the kittypet. Just as he felt like he was going to be suffocated by the guilt that weighed heavily on him, he remembered what Heatherpaw had told Hickorytail, that Hawkkit would probably be dead if it wasn't for him.

The guilt he was feeling suddenly lifted, he wasn't dead, and he might still have a chance to be a warrior if he tried hard enough, besides, Palestripe was a fantastic medicine cat, he had no doubts that he'd be able to help him come out of this with just a few minor scars.

Even if Palestripe somehow didn't manage to save his eye, he would still train as hard as he could, to be a warrior that Owlfoot could feel proud of.

As for the kittypet, he couldn't do much for him for now, except to send a prayer to StarClan, and hope that they were watching over him, even though he wasn't a clan cat.


	4. LotusClan

_Thank you to coniferous - Redfeather for Pantherpaw, Halfmask, Redfeather, Snowpaw, Sootpaw, and Campbell, and catspider12 for Redpaw_

* * *

L _eader: Pondstar - dark brown tom with green eyes_

 _Deputy: Sharpcry - black and white she-cat with green eyes_

 _Medicine Cat: Morningstream - light grey she-cat with blue eyes_

 _(appentice: Snowpaw)_

 _Warriors:_

 _Halfmask - half black, half russet tabby tom with amber eyes_

 _(apprentice: Sootpaw)_

 _Redfeather - white tom with a plumy red tail_

 _(apprentice: Redpaw)_

 _Minnowfin - grey tom with green eyes_

 _Stoneshade - dark grey tom with blue eyes_

 _Apprentices:_

 _Sootpaw - dark gray speckled tabby she-cat with green eyes_

 _Snowpaw - white and gray tom with green eyes_

 _Redpaw - fluffy ginger tabby with yellow eyes_

 _Queens:_

 _Smallpetal - small black and white she-cat with green eyes (expecting Stoneshade's kits)_

 _Elders:_

 _Whitewave - white tom with yellow eyes_

* * *

The large, silver moon shone brightly in the night sky, as Morningstream padded along behind Pondstar to the gathering.

"This is so cool, do you think Heatherpaw will be there?" Snowpaw, her apprentice, meowed from behind her. She flicked her tail, motioning for him to be quiet, there would be plenty of time to talk when they got there. She was happy though, at how enthusiastic her apprentice was about seeing his fellow medicine cats. This was only his second gathering, but during his first one, he and Heatherpaw seemed to get on quite well.

"It looks like we're the last clan to arrive," Pondstar remarked. True to his words, several cats from the other clans are already scattered out over the clearing.

"Come on," she meowed to Snowpaw, as she went over to where the other medicine cats were sitting.

"Hello, Morningstream, Snowpaw," Desertwind, the PineClan medicine cat, greeted them.

"Hello, Desertwind, how are things in PineClan?" Morningstream asked, while Snowpaw gave a polite nod to him.

"Great! I might be taking in an apprentice soon."

"Well, it's about time, now if only we could convince Littlesong to take in an apprentice," she said with a mrrow of laughter.

"I still have many more moons before I need an apprentice," the DustClan medicine cat snorted.

"Speaking of apprentices, where's Heatherpaw?" Snowpaw asked Palestripe, Heatherpaw's mentor, and the HillClan medicine cat.

Palestripe let out a sigh, and Morningstream glanced over at him, surprised to see how tired he looked, and how unkempt his silver and white fur was. She hoped that he wasn't coming down with something.

"Are you okay?" she decided to ask, even though she knew that Palestripe wasn't one to enjoy chit-chat.

The older medicine cat let out another sigh.

"I had to do something that I don't think has ever been done before, if it has, I haven't heard about it," he shook his head, "it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"What was that?" Littlesong asked, Desertwind pricked his ears forward with interest.

"Was it Heatherpaw? Is she alright?" Snowpaw asked.

"Not Heatherpaw, her brother, Heathpaw, a tree limb fell on his foreleg, and scratched his eye up really badly," Palestripe looked down at his paws, and when he looked back up, Morningstar could see that his green eyes were shining with grief.

"I-Is he okay?" Littlesong asked hesitantly.

"He's alive, but I couldn't save his eye, or his leg."

"What do you mean you couldn't save his leg?" Desertwind asked.

"It was broken in too many places, I had to remove it before infection set in."

"Oh no!" Littlesong gasped. Morningstream rested her tail on Palestripe's shoulder.

"Heatherpaw is with him right now, she has refused to leave his side since it happened three days ago, that's why she isn't here tonight," he glanced over at Snowpaw.

"We'll keep all of you in our thoughts," Littlesong meowed, Morningstream nodded in agreement.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask," Desertwind added.

"Thank you, but I think it's in the paws of StarClan now, even if he does somehow make it through this, he will never be a warrior."

Morningstream was relieved when the clan leaders started to climb up on their perches, she hoped it would give Palestripe something else to put his mind on.

"It looks like Olivestar is back," she remarked, remembering that the PineClan leader hadn't been at the gathering last time, because she had been in the nursery with her kits.

"Yes, Lakemist agreed to look after Cedarkit, Deerkit, and Fawnkit tonight," Desertwind meowed.

"Attention cats of all clans!" Olivestar's yowl rang out throughout the clearing.

Morningstream turned her attention to the black pelted leader, and listened patiently to hear what she had to say.

"Things are great in PineClan, three of our apprentices have become warriors, Blueberrypaw, Blackberrypaw, and Gooseberrypaw are now Blueberrywhisker, Blackberryfur, and Gooseberryeye."

The cats started chanting their new names, and Morningstream joined in.

Olivestar waved her tail for silence, and when the noise died down, she continued.

"Two of our kits have also become apprentices, Raspberrykit and Strawberrykit are now Raspberrypaw and Strawberrypaw, their mentors are Loudspark and Blackberryfur."

Once the chants for Raspberrypaw and Strawberrypaw ceased, Dawnstar stood up.

"Things are going well in HillClan, we have caught plenty of prey, and collected plenty of herbs that will hopefully last us through leaf-bare."

She didn't say anything about her injured clanmate, Morningstream thought, she wasn't that surprised though, it might be seen as a weakness by the other clans, and no clan liked looking weak in front of the others.

Pondstar stood up, and cleared his throat.

"Things are also going well in LotusClan, Smallpetal is expecting kits with Stoneshade."

Morningstream looked over at her brother, to see that he was beaming with pride. She couldn't believe that he was going to be a father, it seemed like only a moon ago, that she was helping Lightstream, their mother, to deliver him. Even though she had helped other she-cats deliver kits before, nothing made her more nervous than helping her mother.

Unfortunately, less than a moon later, Lightstream came down with greencough, which she wasn't able to fight off, and about a quarter of a moon after that, her father, Shadestorm, left the clan, announcing that without Lightstream, he had no purpose there. At first, Morningstream was angry about it, did she and her brother not matter to him? She didn't dwell on it long though, she had just received her full medicine cat name at the time, and she knew her duty was to her clan, not to pity herself because she meant nothing to her father. She couldn't help but to feel bad for Stoneshade though, he would be growing up without either of his parents. She supposed it must be easier on him though, because he couldn't really miss cats he had never met.

Once, when he had just become an apprentice, he asked her about their parents, and she told him the truth about Lightstream, however, she told him that Shadestorm had died protecting the camp from a fox. She knew it was wrong to lie, but she didn't want him to grow up with hate in his heart.

When Morningstream turned her attention back to the leaders, she felt a swift stab of guilt when she saw Brownstar, the DustClan leader, sitting back down, she had been so invested in her thoughts, that she missed his whole announcement.

"Since the-" Dawnstar began to say, when Hickorytail suddenly stood up and started meowing.

"There is one thing Olivestar forgot to mention, two HillClan apprentices trespassed onto our territory."

From behind her, Morningstream heard Palestripe let out a low growl, and Silentwind jumped to his paws and spat.

"The only reason Heathpaw crossed the border was the rescue a PineCLan kit that shouldn't have been out of the camp in the first place!"

"How do I even know that story is true? For all we know, the two apprentices could have been making up the whole thing!" Hickorytail growled.

"My kits are honorable cats! They would never cross another clan's border without a good reason!" Silentwind meowed lowly.

"They're young, and young cats are prone to making up stories, I was there when the tree branch fell, there was no PineClan kit around, it was just those two HillClan apprentices hunting in our territory," Hickorytail hissed.

"That's a lie!" Silentwind yowled. Morningstream feared for a moment, that he would attack the PineClan deputy, but to her relief, he stayed put.

"Which kit was it that was out of the nursery?" Olivestar asked, stepping down to stand beside Hickorytail.

"Heatherpaw told me it was Hawkkit, but since neither of them are here, it's going to be a bit hard to find out the whole story, but Heatherpaw is my apprentice, and I know that she would never lie, or do anything to break the warrior code," Palestripe meowed.

"Apparently you don't know your apprentice as well as you thought," Hickorytail retorted.

"That is enough! My son was badly injured, he might not survive, and even if he does, he will never be a warrior," Silentwind's meow caught in his throat, "I will not have cats tarnishing his good name, just because they don't want to admit they made a mistake in not noticing when a kit strolled out of camp."

"This gathering is over, we will talk to Hawkkit, and figure out what really happened," Olivestar meowed.

"I hope Hickorytail doesn't convince him to lie," Snowpaw muttered. Morningstream turned to Desertwind.

"What do you know about this?" she asked.

"Um," he shuffled his paws uneasily, "I-I can't really say anything against my clan, I'm sorry."

He bolted off to go catch up with the rest of the PineClan cats, before Morningstream could get another word out.

"Coward," Snowpaw spat.

"No," Morningstream shook her head, and turned to look at her apprentice, "a medicine cat's first duty is to their clan."

"Even if that means lying? I know Heatherpaw, well, I only met her once, but I know that she would never do anything that Hickorytail is accusing her of."

"I guess we'll just have to wait until Olivestar has a chance to talk to Hawkkit, come on, we better go catch up with our clan before they leave us behind."

"They wouldn't actually leave us behind, would they?" Snowpaw asked.

"Of course not!" Morningstream meowed, letting out a small mrrow of laughter, despite everything that had happened tonight.

"Good, I can't wait to go tell Sootpaw about what happened, do you think she'll be able to come to the next gathering? She hasn't been to one yet," Snowpaw meowed.

"Maybe if she doesn't put another toad in Halfmask's nest," Morningstream said sternly.

"It was just a prank, besides, Sootpaw said that he thought it was funny."

"It doesn't matter if he found it funny or not, it's disrespectful of her to mess with another cat, especially if that cat is her mentor, and someday, one cat might not find it funny, and they might retaliate."

"Like Redpaw?" Snowpaw asked.

"Yes, like Redpaw," Morningstream replied, remembering how Redpaw and Sootpaw had gotten into a huge fight after Sootpaw tried one of her pranks out on her. The other apprentice wasn't at the gathering either. Thinking about the other cats, suddenly made Morningstream realize that they needed to catch up with their clanmates.

"Come on," she meowed to Snowpaw, "let's go."

Thankfully, her clan hadn't traveled very far, and they managed to catch up in a few long strides.

"There you are, we were beginning to wonder what happened," Stoneshade meowed.

"Yes, he wanted to send a patrol out for you, but I told him that you knew your way back to camp, and that you were probably just discussing medicine cat stuff," the deputy, Sharpcry, snorted.

"I can't believe what happened at the gathering, poor Heathpaw and Heatherpaw, now because of mean old Hickorytail, everyone is going to think they're rule breaking prey stealers," Stoneshade meowed.

"How do we know they're not? For all we know, Hickorytail could be telling the truth," Sharpcry pointed out.

"Yeah, what purpose does he have for lying?" Minnowfin asked.

"We will discuss it when we get back to camp, but I don't see what business it is of ours, none of the cats involved are in our clan," Pondstar meowed.

When they finally made it back to camp, Redfeather wasted no time greeting them.

"How was the gathering?" he asked, bristling slightly with excitement. Morningstream couldn't help put to let out a small mrrow, even though Redfeather was a warrior, he still sometimes acted like a kit.

"Yeah, did anything interesting happen?" Sootpaw meowed, poking her head out of the apprentice's den. Redpaw poked his head out as well, but he didn't say anything, he just stood there glaring.

"There was a dispute between HillClan and PineClan, but since it doesn't involve us, we're not going to do anything," Pondstar meowed.

"Hopefully they don't start a war, and if they do, it better be away from our borders," Whitewave grumbled, stepping out of the elder's den.

"They won't really start a war over a simple border crossing dispute, will they?" Halfmask asked.

"I don't know, I almost expected Silentwind to start a fight with Hickorytail at the gathering!" Stoneshade exclaimed.

"But he didn't, and there will be no more discussion about this! It's not our business and I intend to keep it that way," Pondstar spat.

Stoneshade dipped his head.

"Yes Pondstar," he muttered.

"Good, now I am going to sleep, and I don't want to hear another word about what happened at the gathering."

With that, the clan leader turned, and padded back to his nest. Morningstream wasn't surprised at his behavior, he never liked getting involved in the affairs of the other clans.

"Come on, it's been a long night," Morningstream meowed to Snowpaw, figuring that it would be best if she stayed out of the business of the other clans as well.

However, she couldn't get her mind off of how Desertwind had reacted when she asked him about it, it was almost as if he was scared. She wouldn't let herself dwell on it though, not when there wasn't anything she could do, Pondstar didn't want anyone involved, and Desertwind probably wouldn't talk either, even if she did somehow manage to get him alone. Uneasiness pricked at her though, and she knew she couldn't just ignore it. She would talk to StarClan when it came time for her to travel to the moonstone, she would ask for their advice on what to do. Whatever they told her, she hoped it would give her the answers she needed.


End file.
